He can use his staff to work with local issues as long as he directs them.

Work with the people to solve the problem, figure out and tell us what you need that is beyond your control as mayor, what is needed beyond that which you succeed at- and then teach, preach, and run

He's got a lot of time ahead of him. Gain the trust of the African-American community in South Bend, then he has a shot at gaining their trust nationwide.

Instead he seemed stunned and flat-footed.

He's not ready for prime time.

He's a nice enough guy with promise, but needs more experience.

would be a way for people to feel heard, for the mayor to find out what has been going on. And, legally, to gather testimony for complaints that need to be lodged.

"center mass".

they're basically never held to account for that (over)reaction - which seems to kill many more black people than white. too many subjective parameters.

after all, that person could be a ninja; the police have no way to know they're not experts at throwing knives, etc.

"suicide by cop" is in no way unique to South Bend.

he hadn't done any foundational work prior to that and thus it blew up.

He should have first met with a number of smaller groups--influential African American community members and leaders. Identify ALL of the issues and perhaps together design a response strategy. Hopefully, he could have gained both confidence and support from at least some who met with him. Only then, and joined by these community members/leaders should he have held the town hall. Of course, he should have been simultaneously responding via press release and/or public statement as to what he was doing as well as his sincere feelings about what had happened.

There is always a belief that public town hall venting sessions are useful. It has been my experience that when emotions are highest, they usually are not. And when there has been years and decades of grievances not addressed it is only to be expected that even the "best" leader/politician will be met with I intense anger. I recall attending a national environmental meeting helmed by then Clinton EPA Head, Carole Browner. The conference was on environmental equity. While there had been no inciting event, the years of horrific lack of attention to the issue and the emergence of toxic industry "cancer alleys" and the like in minority and low-income areas of the country had been cumulative. Carol Browner, though a decent administrator who appeared to really care about the issue was never going to be able to come on the stage with anything less than an eruption from the audience and it devolved from there. Had conference organizers included representatives and community leaders from these impacted areas of the country, it might not have become such a screaming match that ultimately failed in its purpose. I learned a lot from seeing that.

to raise money. He can stay on top of national issues from his office in Indiana. He can do campaign "PSAs"

It's early; it's the digital age. He does not need to be on the trail.

Buttigieg is in a tough spot, the police department issues did not develop overnight. Unfortunately Mayors get blamed for bad cops and every other thing that happens in a city, but they also wanted the job.

How should he deal with it? Invent a time machine to take himself back almost 8 years as a newly elected mayor who saw what the future was, other than that, he really does not have any control over the situation, other than mentoring the new mayor that will take over late this year or early next.

ii didnt ask what pete did wrong, not did i ask what pete should do.


i asked what YOU would do.

There's no way to win now.

what would I do if in Mayor Pete's shoes?

As far as handling the situation in South Bend, civil service and union rules require that there is an investigation first before any disciplinary action. I don't have a problem with that, and I don't think Pete should short-circuit that process. At this point, it's impossible for him to undo what was done. All that can be done is to learn from this, and find ways to prevent it happening in the future. I'm sure Pete Buttigieg is 100% behind that approach.

Take a page from Pittsburgh's book after Antwon Rose II was killed by police. The officer was acquitted because the state law on the books gives police cover to use deadly force if they feel their life is threatened or they feel in danger. The community along with mayor Peduto have come together to work with the state legislature to get the law changed so police can't be absolved of bad decisions because of the way the law is written.

Stop encouraging applications from former military, unless they were MPs, to join the police force. The military is trained to kill, not to build community relations in service of creating a civil society.

Make psychological testing a part of the hiring process and periodically re-test employees to determine if their mindset has changed.

Make a clear list of expectations for police and for the community.

Sit down with the FOP and community reps to figure out what good policing looks like. Bringing the FOP into the process gives them buy-in rather than constantly feeling pressured to defend police regardless of how egregiously they act.

I think he probably needs to suspend his presidential campaign and deal with his responsibilities as mayor, too.

imho a lot of this is roid rage. i suspect you could learn a lot about a person by watching them in the gym.

there should be mandatory drug screens for any cop that pulls their gun.
and an automatic suspension if they turn their cams off.

nt

There was no way to come out of this unscathed. He did the absolute best he could, which is way better than almost anyone else would have. No complaints. It was a shit sandwich.